Author's Note: I really want to thank everyone for your kindness and support. To learn your thoughts about the story is really helping me to keep on writing, and I will work hard to not disappoint you. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter III

Lucas Bouchard was walking out of the library when he spotted her. Elizabeth Thornton was walking down the street, basket in one arm, a book in the other. Little Jack was probably already with Laura as morning classes were about to start.

Lucas stopped his tracks, and simply watched as Elizabeth observed the first page of the book. At first glance, it would seem like that was an ordinary day; he was about to go to his saloon, and Elizabeth was on her way to school. But that would be at first glance because Lucas knew better than that.

Like everyone else in Hope Valley, he was fully aware of what had occurred on the previous day. He had been dealing cards when he heard someone shout that Nathan had been shot. Immediately, he had reached out for his coat, and left the saloon. He walked past the doors, still buttoning up his coat, in time to see Elizabeth staring helplessly at the wagon, and to hear Carson's voice.

He's gone.

Lucas would never forget the look on Elizabeth's face when she had thought that Nathan was gone. He would never forget what he had felt seconds later either as he had watched Elizabeth turn around, stunned by the events. It had been then that she had spotted Nathan approaching the commotion, crestfallen and beaten, and rushed into his arms. Obviously, there had been a pang in his chest, but had he tried to ignore it. No matter how things were between them, he would never wish for Nathan's death.

Then, there had been the moment when Nathan had looked at him, silently asking for his help. Lucas had walked towards them without thinking, and noticed the tender way Nathan had tried to convince Elizabeth to release him. Elizabeth had not even seemed to be aware of her surroundings, as she hugged Nathan with all of her strength. Still, Nathan did not relent and with a lot of silent persuasion, he eventually managed to help Elizabeth straighten up, and turn to Lucas.

Lucas still remembered how much Elizabeth had been shaking when he had taken her to the Infirmary.

Now there they were, still convalescing, still recovering from the fright. Still, Lucas could not help himself. As he observed Elizabeth walking by herself, Lucas straightened up, and unconsciously ran his hands down his coat. Then, he took a deep breath.

"Elizabeth!" he called out as he approached the distracted teacher. She did not seem to hear him as she continued studying the first page of the book. However, as he got closer, Lucas understood she was not even reading the paragraphs; she was simply staring at the page. "Elizabeth?"

"Yes?" the teacher asked as she looked up. As soon as she realized who stood next to her, she seemed to wake up from the daze she was trapped in. "Oh, Lucas! Hi!"

"Hi!" Lucas greeted back. "I just wanted to check on you."

Elizabeth just stared, and Lucas was unsure of why she was looking at him that way. Had she gotten over what had happened on the previous day? Should he dare bringing it up?

"So… Are you ready to go to school?" Lucas decided to ask, clasping his hands for a moment.

"Yes, I am." Elizabeth answered, not really elaborating her answer, and Lucas nodded. Even though she was not giving more details, she was still looking at him. Lucas was quick to understand she was still not over the incident.

"Will you be working on literature today?" Lucas asked as he pointed at the book, and Elizabeth looked down at it as if she was seeing the book for the first time.

"Oh, yes! The children and I will be studying Robinson Crusoe." Elizabeth finally explained as she stared at the cover of the book.

"Wait on the Lord, and be of good cheer, and he shall strengthen thy heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." Lucas eventually quoted as Elizabeth trailed off. The teacher looked up at him once again, and offered him a smile. Lucas was far too used to her expressions to understand how counterfeit her smile was, but did not say anything about it. "Well, I guess I should let you go."

"Yes, I should go." Elizabeth agree with a quick nod, and she tried to offer him another smile. "See you later, Lucas."

"Have a good day." Lucas waved back, and watched as Elizabeth walked away. For a moment, he was tempted to call out her name once again, but decided against. Instead, he turned his back, and made his way towards the Queen of Hearts. He had just been about to walk through the doors when he glanced in direction of the Mounted Police office.

Lucas was visibly surprised when he spotted the red serge tunic approaching the office. Although he knew Nathan would never take the day off, Lucas had not been expecting to see him so soon. His posture gave nothing away, and when Nathan looked his way, Lucas found himself nodding in greeting.

Nathan simply nodded back before disappearing inside the office.

Taking a deep breath in, Lucas continued looking at the Mounted Police office. He recalled Elizabeth running straight to Nathan's arms, and felt his insides twist and turn. Albeit he was happy to see that Nathan was all right, Lucas was determined to never see that look of anguish in Elizabeth's face ever again.

"Hey Lucas!" a voice greeted him, and Lucas turned to his side in time to see Fiona walking towards him. "You look serious. Did something happen? Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucas responded as he turned to face her. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Can we talk?" Fiona asked, looking rather uncomfortable, and Lucas nodded before motioning to the Queen of Hearts with a hand.

"Sure, let's go inside."

The sound of the bell echoed around school, and students caused the usual commotion as they finished the day. Elizabeth watched them all leave the classroom while also reminding them to complete their homework for the next day. Elizabeth had been just about to walk around her desk to sit down when she realised there was one student still sitting on her seat.

Elizabeth inwardly took a deep breath, and decided to learn against her desk instead.

"Allie, are you OK?" she decided to ask, silently taking in the look on the girl's face. Allie looked up at her before shrugging her shoulders. Elizabeth understood her reaction, and walked towards the girl before crouching down next to her. "Is this about your uncle?"

Allie took a shaky breath at that, and Elizabeth understood she had gotten it right.

"Have you talked to him?" Allie nodded in response. "So, what's wrong?"

"It's just… I really don't know what to do." Allie eventually said as a reply. "I tried staying awake yesterday, but I sort of fell asleep. This morning, I saw him, and…" Elizabeth noticed the quiver in the girl's voice, but did not say anything. "He said he was OK, but I'm not sure he is…"

Elizabeth understood what Allie was trying to say. if there was anything she had learned from Jack was about how much some assignments could affect them. Mounties did not feel comfortable sharing information regarding their missions, and Elizabeth knew Nathan would undoubtedly hold back some things due to Allie's age.

"Allie, I'm sure your uncle is all right." Elizabeth tried to sound as reassuring as she could. Hopefully, Allie would not notice how badly she was succeeding at it. "You know he would tell you if something was wrong."

"I don't think he would, at least, not this time." Allie confessed, shaking her head as she spoke. "I just feel like something's not right, and… Well, I don't know if I should ask again or not…"

Again, Elizabeth knew what Allie meant. Ever since she had seen Allie walk inside the classroom that morning, and heard her say her uncle had taken her to school that Elizabeth had felt the urge to talk to Nathan. Still, it seemed like he had no time to talk to her, which had forced her to postpone their conversation.

"I'm sure your uncle will talk to you once he feels ready." Elizabeth heard herself say, but the words sounded empty in her ears. "You know he is a very private man."

Allie nodded at that, and dropped her gaze.

"It's just…" this time, the tremor in her voice was loud and clear, and Elizabeth felt her heart squeeze at the anguish in the girl's face. "When they told me about it… When I thought Uncle Nathan had… I just…"

A tear suddenly rolled down Allie's cheek, and Elizabeth immediately pulled the girl into her arms. Her own heart was breaking at the sight in front of her, and Elizabeth wished Nathan could just materialize in her classroom. She knew his presence alone would be enough to bring some tranquillity to both her and Allie's hearts.

"Your uncle is all right, sweetheart." Elizabeth whispered as she ran a hand down Allie's hair. "He's probably just trying to take care of everything before he talks to you. Give him some time."

Allie surprised Elizabeth by returning the hug. The teacher could tell she was not crying, but she was clearly still in need of more reassurance. Elizabeth had been about to suggest the two of them walked home together when the sound of footsteps suddenly broke the silence. When Elizabeth looked at the entrance of the school, her heart both cried out in tenseness and relief when she spotted Nathan.

His red surge tunic stood out against the colour of the sky.

"Allie, look who's here." Elizabeth whispered to the girl in her arms. Slowly, Allie released her, and looked over her shoulder. Elizabeth took the chance to observe Nathan's expression, and her heart ached when she noticed how closed-off he looked. It was almost as if they had returned to Nathan's first days in Hope Volley, when he had been extremely quiet and reserved. Elizabeth did not really like that look on his face.

As she pulled her lips into a thin line, Allie dropped her arms, but not before sharing one last glance with her teacher. Elizabeth smiled reassuringly at her before nodding. Slowly, she got up from her position, and walked with Allie towards Nathan.

Without saying a word, Allie reached out, and grabbed Nathan's hand. Elizabeth had never seen Allie being so open about her fears, but she understood her actions perfectly well. Half of her wished she could reach out for Nathan too, even though he was standing right int front of her.

Instead, she studied Nathan's face, and tried not to concentrate on the vacant look in his eyes.

"Hi…" she greeted in a breathless voice, and Nathan nodded in response.

"Hey." some would say he was probably trying to protect everyone by not expressing himself, but he was clearly shutting her out. it did not take a genius to see that. Then, he turned to Allie. "Are you ready to go?"

Allie nodded in response before turning to Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton."

"You're welcome, Allie." Elizabeth told the girl with a small smile before she looked up at Nathan. He took the opportunity to put his hat on top of his head before tipping it as he looked at her. "Nathan…"

"Thank you for watching over Allie." Nathan interrupted her before he looked down at his niece. "Let's go."

With one last nod in her direction, Nathan turned around, and walked away without ever releasing Allie's hand. Elizabeth stood by the door, watching their figures getting smaller and smaller, her heart squeezing as her eyes went from Allie's back to Nathan's.

Someone's been shot.

I think it's Nathan! He's been shot!

Elizabeth closed her eyes, and forced herself to take a deep breath before opening them again. When her eyes rested on Nathan's red serge tunic, she held her breath and waited for him to look over his shoulder like he usually did.

He did not.

Biting her lower lip, Elizabeth looked down at her hands. She undoubtedly needed to do something about what was happening, but she would probably need some help to do so.

To Be Continued

Note: Sorry, it's me again; I would just like to ask for suggestions for the Christmas Festival. I would appreciate some ideas, because even though I know what will happen in that part of the story, I would still like to know some ideas about what you would like to see in that chapter. They would be most welcome. Thank you kindly.